Starter quiz
- In Greek mythology, who is the ruler of the gods?
- Ares
- Hades
- Poseidon
- Zeus ✓
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- In Greek mythology, who is Hera?
- the wife of Hades
- the wife of Zeus ✓
- the goddess of love
- the goddess of marriage ✓
-
- 'When something is much less exciting or dramatic than it was expected to be' is the definition of an ...
- 'anti-climax' ✓
- 'To criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
- 'subvert' ✓
- Which of the following is a synonym of the verb 'to leave'?
- withdraw ✓
- recede ✓
- advance
- prolong
-
- 'A group of words that is related in meaning' is the definition of a ...
- 'semantic field' ✓
Exit quiz
- Which of the following is an accurate summary of Jennifer Saint's 'Hera'?
- Zeus imprisons Hera and reclaims his place as unopposed ruler.
- Hera overthrows Zeus and claims her place as ruler.
- Hera chooses not to destroy Zeus. ✓
- Poseidon and Hera work together to overthrow Zeus.
-
- Arguably, we might consider Saint's ending to 'Hera' as ...
- a resolution
- an anti-climax ✓
- a cliffhanger
- a plot twist
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- In 'Hera', Saint uses the symbolism of __________ to craft an anti-climactic ending.
- fire
- water ✓
- earth
-
- Which of the following would create a semantic field with the words "crumpled" and "creased"?
- wrinkled ✓
- smooth
- rumpled ✓
- sharp
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- 'The state or fact of lasting only for a short time' is the definition of which word beginning with 't'?
- 'transience' ✓
- 'Achieving no result; not effective or successful' is the definition of which word beginning with 'f'?
- 'futile' ✓
Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Saint arguably uses an anti-climax in order to subvert the reader's expectations about ambition and power.
- In order to craft an anti-climax, Saint uses symbolism and semantic fields to create ideas of transience.
- In order to emulate Saint's work, we might use the symbolism of water and repetition of a verb which implies departing.
- Furthermore, we might consider using a semantic field of being unbalanced.
Common misconception
That anti-climaxes are always disappointing to the reader.
While some people may find them disappointing, they can also be useful in teaching us something about our own expectations around endings and resolutions.
Keywords
Anti-climax - when something is much less exciting or dramatic than it was expected to be
Transience - the state or fact of lasting only for a short time
Futile - achieving no result; not effective or successful
Subvert - to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values
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